A new survey of small- and medium-sized businesses in the U.S. found that 73 percent plan to buy tens of thousands of dollars worth of tablets in the next 12 months, and most of those purchases will be Apple's iPad.

The NPD Group polled American businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees about their intent to buy tablets over the next year, and found nearly three quarters intend to bring touchscreen tablets into the workplace. Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD, said businesses are "determined" to embrace tablets, and Apple's iPad remains the top choice in the enterprise.

"The iPad, just as it is in the consumer market, is synonymous for 'Tablet' in the business market, leaving Apple poised to take advantage of the increased spending intentions of these SMBs (small and medium businesses)," Baker said. "NPD's research shows that iPad purchase preference is higher among larger firms than smaller ones, which is an important indicator that Apple is gaining traction far outside its typical consumer space."

Tablet buying intentions are highest among larger companies with between 501 and 999 employees, where 89 percent of businesses will buy a tablet, and spend an average of $38,749. The average small- and medium-sized business is expected to spend more than $21,000 on tablets in the next year.

The survey also shows that an overwhelming majority -- 90 percent -- of firms polled plan to maintain or increase their spending on tablets over the next year.

The latest NPD data comes from its quarterly SMB Technology Monitor survey. The questions were fielded in September of 2011, and firms with fewer than 1,000 employees answered questions about purchase intentions for tablets, PCs, mobile phones, networking and more.

Apple officials have repeatedly boasted about the success the iPad has seen in the enterprise over a short time. In each of the company's quarterly earnings conference calls, executives have revealed adoption rates among Fortune 500 companies, and in October it was said that 90 percent of the Fortune 500 were deploying or testing the iPad, just 18 months since it first debuted.

Another survey revealed by Good Technology in October found that the iPad represented nearly all of enterprise tablet adoptions. The iPad represented 96 percent of tablet activations tracked by the company, while Android represented just 4 percent of activations in the third quarter of 2011.

In an query, a business owner may have used "iPad" as a generic term for a tablet. When they are about to make the purchase, they are likely to consider features and price, and may end up buying an alternative product.

So, I use my iPad to log in to my work email when I am not in the office(I don't like using my phone for this as I absolutley hate the constant stream of notifications). Its great to not have to log in on my desktop through citrix for little things. But other than that, I am at a loss on how I would use it. Don't get me wrong, I can see plenty of uses for it, especially mobile purchasing, invoice viewer/signing(with custom software from the company) etc. I am just curious, how is everyone else using it? I am an accountant, so for me if a device doesn't have excel and a 10 key I can't figure out how to be productive with it.

In an query, a business owner may have used "iPad" as a generic term for a tablet. When they are about to make the purchase, they are likely to consider features and price, and may end up buying an alternative product.

this is a possibility, but as the iPad is outselling all the other tablets put together, is unlikely.

The halo effect of this will be massive I am sure, leading to way more MacBook Pros, MacBook Airs and iPhones in these companies too. 2012 will be a blow out year for Apple of gargantuan proportions.

My only criticism of my iPad is the lack of its own junk filtering in Apple's mail system. If my Mac is asleep and hasn't yet filtered the iPad gets the lot. Wake my Mac up and in seconds the iPad's mail junk automatically cleared. It shouldn't require the Mac to do this. This needs to be server side if not built into the iPad. Some one tell me I can do this but have it set up wrong and I will try not to shoot myself.

From Apple ][ - to new Mac Pro I've owned them all.Long on AAPL so biased"Google doesn't sell you anything, Google just sells you!"

In an query, a business owner may have used "iPad" as a generic term for a tablet. When they are about to make the purchase, they are likely to consider features and price, and may end up buying an alternative product.

Your logic is a bit suspect. If the questionnaire respondent is using iPad as a generic term for tablet it also could be concluded he / she would do the same on an order form

From Apple ][ - to new Mac Pro I've owned them all.Long on AAPL so biased"Google doesn't sell you anything, Google just sells you!"

It was, according to the last stats, but things may change. Especially in regard to businesses, which may have specific requirements better met by other tablets.

I don't find your comments insightful in any way, of course business needs and requirements can and do change, as do consumers, otherwise we'd all be driving around in Model T Fords and playing gramophone records.

The point is as of now, businesses are deciding that Apple is offering the best product for their current and anticipated needs.

I don't find your comments insightful in any way, of course business needs and requirements can and do change, as do consumers, otherwise we'd all be driving around in Model T Fords and playing gramophone records...

Quote:

Originally Posted by addabox

This is so general as to be meaningless, and could be said about any purchasing decision, no matter how entrenched or overwhelmingly preferred a given option might be.

You're taking my last post outside of the context of my first one, where I specifically made the point that saying "I am planning to buy an iPad" may actually mean "I am planning to buy any tablet", because of iPad becoming a generic term for a lightweight tablet. Thus, this declaration cannot be taken at face value as an intention to buy an iPad.

I meet tons of people who continue to call Android phones iPhones and just don't care if you correct them. Despite the iPhone being far more popular in general, far more Android phones are being sold.

Finally, if you don't like my comment then just ignore them, sheesh...

So, I use my iPad to log in to my work email when I am not in the office...
Its great to not have to log in on my desktop through citrix for little things. But other than that, I am at a loss on how I would use it. Don't get me wrong, I can see plenty of uses for it, especially mobile purchasing..
I am just curious, how is everyone else using it? I am an accountant, so for me if a device doesn't have excel and a 10 key I can't figure out how to be productive with it.

You seem to contradict yourself, you've already found some productive uses for it (if it helps you in your job, is that not productive?) yet you're at a loss as to how you would use it.

You're taking my last post outside of the context of my first one, where I specifically made the point that saying "I am planning to buy an iPad" may actually mean "I am planning to buy any tablet", because of iPad becoming a generic term for a lightweight tablet. Thus, this declaration cannot be taken at face value as an intention to buy an iPad.

I meet tons of people who continue to call Android phones iPhones and just don't care if you correct them. Despite the iPhone being far more popular in general, far more Android phones are being sold.

Finally, if you don't like my comment then just ignore them, sheesh...

These are just questions raised by you, concern trollish questions. You didn't poll these businesses, you didn't design the poll and you didn't tally the results.

You make a lot of assumptions and suppositions, but you don't know for a fact what these businesses answered for. They said they would be buying iPads and I take them to know what they are talking about. Stupid people don't run businesses. They, by and large, know what they want and what they are going to spend money on to help them run their business so as to be profitable.

Great questions, but that's all they are. Show me another poll that differentiates and then we'll talk.

You're taking my last post outside of the context of my first one, where I specifically made the point that saying "I am planning to buy an iPad" may actually mean "I am planning to buy any tablet", because of iPad becoming a generic term for a lightweight tablet. Thus, this declaration cannot be taken at face value as an intention to buy an iPad.

I meet tons of people who continue to call Android phones iPhones and just don't care if you correct them. Despite the iPhone being far more popular in general, far more Android phones are being sold.

Finally, if you don't like my comment then just ignore them, sheesh...

And you are ignoring my reply to you. If someone says iPad meaning any tablet then they may well order an iPad meaning any tablet. They are either clueless, don't care or really mean an iPad ... all three options would tend towards the probability being increased they get an iPad. The idea that some one would say iPad but know they are really going to order some half assed cheap Android copy is less likely IMHO since they'd be the exact type who would never say iPad if they didn't mean it ...

From Apple ][ - to new Mac Pro I've owned them all.Long on AAPL so biased"Google doesn't sell you anything, Google just sells you!"

I know one medium sized business that is planning to use 3G ones in kiosks with their own app for a healthcare related device.
Of course they will also be using that app for other things as well, so the iPads will be used outside of the Kiosk too.

These are just questions raised by you, concern trollish questions. You didn't poll these businesses, you didn't design the poll and you didn't tally the results.

You make a lot of assumptions and suppositions, but you don't know for a fact what these businesses answered for. They said they would be buying iPads and I take them to know what they are talking about. Stupid people don't run businesses. They, by and large, know what they want and what they are going to spend money on to help them run their business so as to be profitable.

Great questions, but that's all they are. Show me another poll that differentiates and then we'll talk.

Fair enough. I don't actually know what the questions were. For example, I don't know if people were asked whether they would buy iPad 2 or Asus Transformer Prime.

Quote:

Originally Posted by digitalclips

And you are ignoring my reply to you. If someone says iPad meaning any tablet then they may well order an iPad meaning any tablet. They are either clueless, don't care or really mean an iPad ... all three options would tend to the probability being increased they get an iPad. The idea that some one would say iPad but know they are really going to order some half assed cheap Android copy is less likely IMHO since they'd the exact type who would never say iPad if they didn't mean it ...

Well, you should talk with Psych_guy above about whether business people are stupid and buy stuff by mistake. And no, I wasn't talking about cheap Android copies, but about high range tablets that are sometimes more expensive than the iPad but offer things like USB ports, optional keyboards, additional connectivity, external storage, higher resolution, more memory and CPU power, etc...

Well, you should talk with Psych_guy above about whether business people are stupid and buy stuff by mistake. And no, I wasn't talking about cheap Android copies, but about high range tablets that are sometimes more expensive than the iPad but offer things like USB ports, optional keyboards, additional connectivity, external storage, higher resolution, more memory and CPU power, etc...

If someone says iPad using at as a generic term I'd suggest they are not very techie OR really mean iPad. I seriously doubt they are the type of person that would be in the market for what you describe which would most probably mean a techie geek who is anti-Apple. That is my whole point, your premise is flawed in the original post you made on the subject.

From Apple ][ - to new Mac Pro I've owned them all.Long on AAPL so biased"Google doesn't sell you anything, Google just sells you!"

The halo effect of this will be massive I am sure, leading to way more MacBook Pros, MacBook Airs and iPhones in these companies too. 2012 will be a blow out year for Apple of gargantuan proportions.

My only criticism of my iPad is the lack of its own junk filtering in Apple's mail system. If my Mac is asleep and hasn't yet filtered the iPad gets the lot. Wake my Mac up and in seconds the iPad's mail junk automatically cleared. It shouldn't require the Mac to do this. This needs to be server side if not built into the iPad. Some one tell me I can do this but have it set up wrong and I will try not to shoot myself.

No no no... just wait, next summer androids Chocolate Bar Candy ( or is it Beef double Whopper? ) is available, the iPad will be blown away!

Well, you should talk with Psych_guy above about whether business people are stupid and buy stuff by mistake. And no, I wasn't talking about cheap Android copies, but about high range tablets that are sometimes more expensive than the iPad but offer things like USB ports, optional keyboards, additional connectivity, external storage, higher resolution, more memory and CPU power, etc...

Well, in terms of that particular list-- the iPad has USB connectivity via an adapter, there are plenty of Bluetooth keyboards on the market, I don't know what "additional connectivity" means, I don't know what "external storage" means (do I keep my tablet tethered to a hard drive?), higher resolution is possible but likely to be eclipsed by the next iteration of the iPad (and probably isn't high on enterprise wish-lists, being more of a consumer bullet-point bragging right thing), and more memory and CPU are only relevant insofar as they provide superior performance, which for the iPad vs. the competition they apparently do not (and businesses are unlikely to be swayed by spec whoring, see above).

So once we get out of the theoretical and sort of vague "specific needs" and into cases, it gets pretty obvious that the reason the iPad is the likely choice is that it does what it needs to do at a very competitive price. You can of course wonder if at some point Samsung, say, might release a tablet that outperforms the iPad at half the price and adds some kind of must have feature, but again that doesn't really mean anything.

They spoke of the sayings and doings of their commander, the grand duke, and told stories of his kindness and irascibility.

My only criticism of my iPad is the lack of its own junk filtering in Apple's mail system.

I hate that every mail message has to open before it can be deleted.

Other minor complaints:

Keyboard has limited character selection. A lot of characters cannot be typed on iPad such as degree symbol, any greek letter such as theta or micrometer symbol which I realize most people don't need but in medical science I need them. You can't type the cents symbol and many others.

The keyboard is sometimes a bit laggy and I absolutely hate the spelling correction.

In Safari you can't tap the header bar to return to the top of the page like on iPhone, which makes for a lot of scrolling on long forum pages such as this one.

There is no way to block obnoxious ads like on a Mac with Ghostery.

You cannot modify the apps that appear on the home screen.

Hate the smart cover.

The screen is dreadful outdoors even when not in direct sunlight, especially if you are trying to show someone sitting beside you something on the screen.

The stock ear buds are useless on a plane. The volume is not loud enough to be heard over the jet engines even in executive class.

You can't charge it from your computer.

That is just off the top of my head. I'm sure I can think of other issues I have with the iPad but I don't have it in front of me at the moment.

If you plug it into a low-power USB port or an OLDER Windows computer USB 1 port, it won't charge (same with older Macs as well). Actually it WILL charge, but just a trickle charge. It needs a USB 2 port (looks the same but provides more power).

I can tap the Status Bar to scroll to the top of Safari pages. Don't know why it wouldn't work for you; maybe you need to be more precise in your tapping. You're on 5.0.1, right? Not that that should matter; we've been able to do that since 3.2… Weird.

You can reorganize apps on the Springboard either in iTunes under the Apps tab or by touching one on the iPad itself and holding it until they all start wiggling. Then you can drag them around the screen at your leisure, putting them into folders and whatnot.

Now, charging? I have NO idea. I think it's a soft limitation that Apple themselves are imposing on Windows users, but it's not impossible that it just truly CANNOT charge while connected to Windows. It's really strange.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mugzy

If you plug it into a low-power USB port or an OLDER Windows computer USB 1 port, it won't charge (same with older Macs as well). Actually it WILL charge, but just a trickle charge. It needs a USB 2 port (looks the same but provides more power).

Says for me that it's not charging when booted into Windows on my Mac Pro. Obviously the ports are identical as when I'm in OS X, so who knows…

Well, in terms of that particular list-- the iPad has USB connectivity via an adapter, there are plenty of Bluetooth keyboards on the market, I don't know what "additional connectivity" means, I don't know what "external storage" means (do I keep my tablet tethered to a hard drive?), higher resolution is possible but likely to be eclipsed by the next iteration of the iPad (and probably isn't high on enterprise wish-lists, being more of a consumer bullet-point bragging right thing), and more memory and CPU are only relevant insofar as they provide superior performance, which for the iPad vs. the competition they apparently do not (and businesses are unlikely to be swayed by spec whoring, see above).

So once we get out of the theoretical and sort of vague "specific needs" and into cases, it gets pretty obvious that the reason the iPad is the likely choice is that it does what it needs to do at a very competitive price. You can of course wonder if at some point Samsung, say, might release a tablet that outperforms the iPad at half the price and adds some kind of must have feature, but again that doesn't really mean anything.

I am uninterested in arguing what the specific examples I gave provide as usability features -- you are likely to have been presented with that sort of info but chose to ignore it. My opinion is that the Asus Transformer Prime has currently more to offer than the iPad 2 for some specific tasks. Whetehr businesses will choose it over the iPad is another question. I know I would.

Keyboard has limited character selection. A lot of characters cannot be typed on iPad such as degree symbol, any greek letter such as theta or micrometer symbol which I realize most people don't need but in medical science I need them. You can't type the cents symbol and many others.

The keyboard is sometimes a bit laggy and I absolutely hate the spelling correction.

In Safari you can't tap the header bar to return to the top of the page like on iPhone, which makes for a lot of scrolling on long forum pages such as this one.

There is no way to block obnoxious ads like on a Mac with Ghostery.

You cannot modify the apps that appear on the home screen.

Hate the smart cover.

The screen is dreadful outdoors even when not in direct sunlight, especially if you are trying to show someone sitting beside you something on the screen.

The stock ear buds are useless on a plane. The volume is not loud enough to be heard over the jet engines even in executive class.

You can't charge it from your computer.

That is just off the top of my head. I'm sure I can think of other issues I have with the iPad but I don't have it in front of me at the moment.

All that said I still use it almost everyday.

A lot of the things you don't like are actually not quite correctly being understood I think. You can tap the top of Safari, you can change apps on home screen, you can get other covers, the spill chucker is flooless mist of the thyme, I might be wrong but I honestly thought it was charging when connected to a Mac, going to check ... be right back ..

From Apple ][ - to new Mac Pro I've owned them all.Long on AAPL so biased"Google doesn't sell you anything, Google just sells you!"

Well me neither apparently. I just now found out that the status bar is the black line that tells you the time of day and your battery status. Tap that and you get the top of page. Well then its time to open that bookmark in Safari, 'Ipad user guide'.
I searched and got this result which is really good.

What is really factored into the price is a kind of perpetual sense of disbelief that any company could be as good as Apple is. ~Retrogusto

no, I wasn't talking about cheap Android copies, but about high range tablets that are sometimes more expensive than the iPad but offer things like USB ports, optional keyboards, additional connectivity, external storage, higher resolution, more memory and CPU power, etc...

You're moving the goalposts, you originally posted that people were using iPad as a generic term for tablet device, you didn't specify any particular category of device.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mugzy

Don't expect them to be used as laptop replacements

Quote:

Originally Posted by addabox

Well, in terms of that particular list-- additional connectivity etc...
... being more of a consumer bullet-point bragging right thing
...businesses are unlikely to be swayed by spec whoring, see above).

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrDoppio

I am uninterested in arguing what the specific examples I gave provide as usability features -- you are likely to have been presented with that sort of info but chose to ignore it. My opinion is that the Asus Transformer Prime has currently more to offer than the iPad 2 for some specific tasks. Whetehr businesses will choose it over the iPad is another question. I know I would.

The mistake DrDoppio and iPad competitors make is that
they view iPads and tablets as types of laptop,
instead of seeing they're within a unique category with its own style of use.

Imagine if the first microcomputers were used in the same way as their mainframe predecessors, connected to several terminals and time sharing.
Such a setup would be a disaster; it'll be so much slower than using a mainframe.
The microcomputer became a success as it brought reasonable computational power to the individual business person and hobbyist, rather than having it locked away in large corporations and research institutes.

Likewise, the iPad is not a laptop, those businesses where a task requires frequent access to "additional connectivity", large hard disks, keyboards etc will be better off buying a laptop or even desktop.

The iPad comes into its own for those tasks which require a portable yet large display, some input and good battery life. The iPad has been designed to be a very portable, personal device. I see its uses within healthcare and customer services: you bring the info and the data to the client/patient, rather than they coming to the terminal, thus making for a more natural and closer, professional association.

The idea that for example a clinician will walk up to the patient's bedside using a tablet with a hard disk and keyboard dangling from USB ports, is frankly clumsy and absurd. In this scenario the tablet has the advantage of being easier to use and clean than a laptop.

You're moving the goalposts, you originally posted that people were using iPad as a generic term for tablet device, you didn't specify any particular category of device.
...

Well I left that to your imagination, naively.

Let me tell you about a friend of mine, who has been brought up in Europe and came to the US as an adult. He often complains about the quality of American beer, but I think he cannot be further from the truth. I think Americans brew some of the best beers in the world.

The problem with my friend is, that he chooses to drink cheap popular piss instead of the quality beers, and then he complains. He doesn't know about Stone Brewing Co, Brooklyn Brewery, Ommegang, Lagunitas, or Dogfish head. All he knows is budd and corrs.

He reminds me a lot of the Android haters around here.

Quote:

The mistake DrDoppio and iPad competitors make is that
they view iPads and tablets as types of laptop,
instead of seeing they're within a unique category with its own style of use.

You don't need to shout.

The only mistake competitors to the iPad made was that they expected to get the same profit margins as Apple. All high-end Android tablets were priced higher than the iPad at release. That's why they never made it.

Finally, don't forget here we discuss business use of the tablet. Why is it so hard to grasp that they may have specific needs better met by a custom choice of tablet? Do I need to spell out use cases, or can you try to think outside the box?

One example: A waiting room. The receptionist snaps a hi-res photo of the customer with the built-in cam, fills in address info on the keyboard, then detaches the tablet from the keyboard and hands it over to the customer to fill-in a multiple choice questionnaire using a simplified interface.
Another example: On a flight, one passenger ask for a computer to work on some spreadsheets he has on an Sd card. His kid wants to see a movie. He gets the keyboard-equipped tablet and types away, while his kid gets the tablet with a kids movie library popped in the microSD slot.
Third example: A construction in a developing country. An inspector loads the blueprints from a memory card, takes notes and pictures while on the go, then removes the card to securely transport it to the HQ where his report is entered into a DB.
Fourth example: A company heavily invested in Windows hardware decides to use tablets. They choose windows 8 tablets...

Surely one can think of more examples, and surely in many cases the iPad would do just fine but another tablet even better.

The only mistake competitors to the iPad made was that they expected to get the same profit margins as Apple. All high-end Android tablets were priced higher than the iPad at release. That's why they never made it.

Finally, don't forget here we discuss business use of the tablet. Why is it so hard to grasp that they may have specific needs better met by a custom choice of tablet? Do I need to spell out use cases, or can you try to think outside the box?

One example: A waiting room. The receptionist snaps a hi-res photo of the customer with the built-in cam, fills in address info on the keyboard, then detaches the tablet from the keyboard and hands it over to the customer to fill-in a multiple choice questionnaire using a simplified interface.
Another example: On a flight, one passenger ask for a computer to work on some spreadsheets he has on an Sd card. His kid wants to see a movie. He gets the keyboard-equipped tablet and types away, while his kid gets the tablet with a kids movie library popped in the microSD slot.
Third example: A construction in a developing country. An inspector loads the blueprints from a memory card, takes notes and pictures while on the go, then removes the card to securely transport it to the HQ where his report is entered into a DB.
Fourth example: A company heavily invested in Windows hardware decides to use tablets. They choose windows 8 tablets...

Surely one can think of more examples, and surely in many cases the iPad would do just fine but another tablet even better.

Sooooo, you think that the ipad isn't as great of a choice for businesses because it doesn't have a microSD slot? In your first example, the ipad can do just that. The second and third examples rely on sd slots but why exactly are these needed again? There's the cloud, email, camera connection kit and many other ways to get data on and off the ipad. And for your last example, people are doing that with the ipad already with citrix and many other programs. And btw, the new windows 8 tablets won't have the exact same software as the desktop.

Sooooo, you think that the ipad isn't as great of a choice for businesses because it doesn't have a microSD slot? In your first example, the ipad can do just that. The second and third examples rely on sd slots but why exactly are these needed again? There's the cloud, email, camera connection kit and many other ways to get data on and off the ipad. And for your last example, people are doing that with the ipad already with citrix and many other programs. And btw, the new windows 8 tablets won't have the exact same software as the desktop.

The iPad has lousy cameras that do not take HD pictures. And yes, someone may very well decide the iPad is a bad choice due to the lack of SD card slots. There's no cloud on an airplane, and the connection kits are precisely the stupid dongles that people here are complaining about. And if you think Windows 8 will not have advantages when it comes to compatibility with MS products then you're delusional.

The lack of imagination I see around here is staggering. I just gave a few examples and noted that the iPad could likely do, but it doesn't have to be a default or even a preferred choice. Yet people here stubbornly insist that no one else will ever think differently than themselves. Sheesh!

Well I left that to your imagination, naively.
He reminds me a lot of the Android haters around here.

No, you keep on changing the criteria from your first statement but you've finally hinted of your grudge against the success of the iPad or Apple.

The Android cheerleaders refuse to accept that the iPad is the most popular tablet by far.
Most consumers and businesses view all the other tablets as unsuitable for their needs.
When the others get it right people will come and buy.
But as of now, the market has decided that Apple has it right.

You've changed your criterion from

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrDoppio

Which means that businesses may in fact consider another tablet, if it offers more suitable capabilities.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrDoppio

a business owner may have used "iPad" as a generic term for a tablet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrDoppio

businesses, which may have specific requirements better met by other tablets.

to

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrDoppio

I am planning to buy an iPad" may actually mean "I am planning to buy any tablet", because of iPad becoming a generic term for a lightweight tablet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrDoppio

I wasn't talking about cheap Android copies, but about high range tablets

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrDoppio

You don't need to shout.

THIS IS SHOUTING,
besides, you can follow your own advice given to me:

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrDoppio

Finally, if you don't like my comment then just ignore them, sheesh...

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrDoppio

The only mistake competitors to the iPad made was that they expected to get the same profit margins as Apple. All high-end Android tablets were priced higher than the iPad at release. That's why they never made it.

Finally, don't forget here we discuss business use of the tablet. Why is it so hard to grasp that they may have specific needs better met by a custom choice of tablet? Do I need to spell out use cases, or can you try to think outside the box?

One example: A waiting room. The receptionist snaps a hi-res photo of the customer with the built-in cam, fills in address info on the keyboard, then detaches the tablet from the keyboard and hands it over to the customer to fill-in a multiple choice questionnaire using a simplified interface.

Another example: On a flight, one passenger ask for a computer to work on some spreadsheets he has on an Sd card. His kid wants to see a movie. He gets the keyboard-equipped tablet and types away, while his kid gets the tablet with a kids movie library popped in the microSD slot.

Third example: A construction in a developing country. An inspector loads the blueprints from a memory card, takes notes and pictures while on the go, then removes the card to securely transport it to the HQ where his report is entered into a DB.

Fourth example: A company heavily invested in Windows hardware decides to use tablets. They choose windows 8 tablets...

Surely one can think of more examples, and surely in many cases the iPad would do just fine but another tablet even better.

I am drawing from real life commercial use, observation and experience:

Example One - in the time spent fiddling around connecting the tablet to the physical keyboard the receptionist would have entered the address using the onscreen keyboard. The receptionist can walk up to the visitor and enter the details by their side, instead of being tied to the desk by the keyboard.

Example Two - I'm of the opinion that if the spreadsheet is important enough and urgent enough for him to work on it that he would have brought his own device. Furthermore, I believe airlines won't be keen on passengers plugging in their own cards and potentially leaving behind trojans, viruses or other nasties on their hardware.

Yes, memory cards may be convenient but they can be easily lost and are small in capacity. An onboard Mac mini can sync or even stream a much wider range of films and media to the onboard iPads.

Example Three - memory cards on a construction site? Little fiddly things difficult to grasp with protective gloves. Also think of all the dust, dirt, concrete and water that will jam into the card slot, rendering it and tablet useless. Much better to sync to the cloud, or if that's not available, use a Wi-Drive, no little cards to sink into concrete or be lost.

Example Four - Well it may or may not suit them: previous tablet editions of Windows have not been as popular as the iPad.

I can appreciate that other tablets may be more suitable:The sales reality is that most tablet purchasers view the iPad as the most suitable tablet for their needs.